Cherry, Cherry

"Cherry, Cherry"
Single by Neil Diamond
from the album The Feel of Neil Diamond
B-side	"I'll Come Running"
Released	July 1966[1]
Format	7-inch
Genre	Pop/Rock
Length	2:39
Label	Bang Records
Writer(s)	Neil Diamond
Producer	Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich
Neil Diamond singles chronology
"Solitary Man" (1966) "Cherry, Cherry" (1966) "I Got the Feelin' (Oh No, No)" (1966)

"Cherry, Cherry" is a song written, composed, and recorded by Neil Diamond. The song was arranged by Artie Butler and produced by Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich. It was issued as a 45 single in 1966 and became Diamond's first big hit,^[2][1] reaching #6 on both the Billboard Hot 100 chart,^[2] in October 1966,^[1] and the Cash Box magazine chart. Worldwide sales were said to have reached over one million copies. Ellie Greenwich came up with the chorus and can be heard as the prominent background voice.

In 1973 a live recording of "Cherry, Cherry" was issued as a 45 single from the Neil Diamond live album Hot August Night. The live version hit #24 on the Cash Box magazine chart and #31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[2]

Rolling Stone would later label "Cherry, Cherry" as "one of the greatest three-chord songs of all time."^[3]

There are actually two versions of "Cherry, Cherry" in existence. The first version, some of whose lyrics are quite different from the version that the Bang Records label actually released, appears on the compilation album Classics: The Early Years, which Diamond and the Columbia Records label finally released in June of 1983. The second version of "Cherry, Cherry" is the version the Bang Records label actually released, whose lyrics are more familiar to listeners.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} William Ruhlmann. "Neil Diamond: Biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p4083/biography. Retrieved 2008-04-30. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Whitburn, Joel (1983). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: 1955 to present. Billboard Publications. ISBN 0-8230-7511-7.  p. 88.
3. ^ Dan Epstein (2005-11-03). "Neil Diamonds' Jewels". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/neildiamond/articles/story/8730821/neil_diamonds_jewels. Retrieved 2008-05-08.